Behind the Bulldog: Winston Churchill's Public Image vs. Private Reality, Based on Those Who Knew Him
Winston Churchill remains one of the most revered figures of the twentieth century, his name a byword for courageous leadership. But the Churchill we know today is a mixture of history and myth, authored by the man himself. Today’s guest, David Reynolds, author of “Mirrors of Greatness: Churchill and the Leaders Who Shaped Him,” re-evaluates Churchill’s life by viewing it through the eyes of his allies and adversaries, even his own family, revealing Churchill’s lifelong struggle to overcome his political failures and his evolving grasp of what “greatness” truly entailed. Through his dealings with Adolf Hitler and Neville Chamberlain, we follow Churchill’s triumphant campaign against Nazi Germany. But we also see a Churchill whose misjudgments of allies and rivals like Roosevelt, Stalin, Gandhi, and Clement Attlee blinded him to the British Empire’s waning dominance on the world stage and to the rising popularity of a postimperial, socialist vision of Great Britain at home.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
18 Jan 202437min
American Anarchy of the Early 1900s and The First U.S. War Against Domestic Extremists
In the early twentieth century, anarchists like Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman championed a radical vision of a world without states, laws, or private property. Militant and sometimes violent, anarchists were heroes to many working-class immigrants. But to many others, anarchism was a terrifyingly foreign ideology. Determined to crush it, government officials launched a decades-long “war on anarchy,” a brutal program of spying, censorship, and deportation that set the foundations of the modern surveillance state. The lawyers who came to the anarchists’ defense advanced groundbreaking arguments for free speech and due process, inspiring the emergence of the civil liberties movement.Today’s guest is Michael Willrich, author of “American Anarchy: The Epic Struggle between Immigrant Radicals and the US Government at the Dawn of the Twentieth Century.” We look at this tumultuous era and parallels with contemporary society.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
16 Jan 202440min
Why Armies Stopped Burning Libraries and Weaponized Them Instead
Books are often seen as “victims” of combat. When the flames of warfare turn libraries to ashes, we grieve this loss as an immense human and cultural tragedy. But that’s not the complete picture. Books were used in war across the twentieth century—both as agents for peace and as weapons. On one hand, books represent solace and solidarity for troops and prisoners of war desperate for reading materials. On the other hand, books have also been engines of warfare, mobilizing troops, spreading ideologies, and disseminating scientific innovation. With accounts that span from ancient Rome to the Cold War, from Uncle Tom’s Cabin to Mao’s Little Red Book, Pettegree demonstrates how books have shaped societies at war—for both good and ill.Today’s guest is Andrew Pettegree, author of “The Book at War: How Reading Shaped Conflict and Conflict Shaped Reading.” We explore the weaponization of the publishing industry, the mechanics of mass-scale censorship, and why the Soviets Hated Ian Fleming.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
11 Jan 202440min
Shining Light on the British Dark Ages: Anglo-Saxon Warfare, 400-1070
In a country fragmented by Roman withdrawal during the 5th century, theemployment of Germanic mercenaries by local rulers in Anglo-Saxon Britain wascommonplace. These mercenaries became settlers, forcing Romano-Britishcommunities into Wales and the West Country. Against a background of spreadingChristianity, the struggles of rival British and Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were exploited bythe Vikings, but eventually contained by the Anglo-Saxon king, Alfred of Wessex. Hisdescendants unified the country during the 10th century, however, subsequent weakrule saw its 25-year incorporation into a Danish empire before it finally fell to theNorman invasion of 1066.Scholars of the early Church have long known that the term ‘Dark Ages’ for the 5th to11th centuries in Britain refers only to a lack of written sources, and gives a falseimpression of material culture. The Anglo-Saxon warrior elite were equipped withmagnificent armour, influenced by the cultures of the late Romans, the ScandinavianVendel people, the Frankish Merovingians, Carolingians and Ottonians, and also theVikings.Today’s guest is Stephen Pollington, author of ”Anglo-Saxon Kings and Warlords AD 400-1070.” We look at the kings and warlords of the time with latest archaeological research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
9 Jan 202442min
The Last Ship From Hamburg: How Russian Jews Escaped Death on the Eve of World War I
For a 30-year period, from the 1880s to World War I, 2.5 million Jews, fleeing discrimination and violence in their homelands of Eastern Europe, arrived in the United States. Many sailed on steamships from Hamburg.This mass exodus was facilitated by three businessmen whose involvement in the Jewish-American narrative has been largely forgotten: Jacob Schiff, the managing partner of the investment bank Kuhn, Loeb & Company, who used his immense wealth to help Jews to leave Europe; Albert Ballin, managing director of the Hamburg-American Line, who created a transportation network of trains and steamships to carry them across continents and an ocean; and J. P. Morgan, mastermind of the International Mercantile Marine (I.M.M.) trust, who tried to monopolize the lucrative steamship business. Though their goals were often contradictory, together they made possible a migration that spared millions from persecution.Today’s guest is Steven Ujifusa, author of “The Last Ships From Hamburg: Business, Rivalry, and The Race to Save Russia’s Jews on the Eve of World War I.” His great-grandparents were part of this immigrant group, and he describes how they moved from the shtetls of Russia and the ports of Hamburg to the mansions of New York’s Upper East Side. We explore how debates on immigration have changed from the 1880s to today, and what it takes for the interests of billionaires and the interests of society’s poorest members to align.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
4 Jan 202447min
James Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied The South And Was Scapegoated for Its Loss
During the Civil War, Gen. James Longstreet was one of the Confederacy’s most beloved generals. Southerners called him “Lee’s Warhorse” and considered him a pillar of the war effort, largely responsible for victories at Second Bull Run, Fredericksburg, and Chickamauga.But after the war Longstreet moved to New Orleans, where he dramatically changed course. He supported black voting and joined the newly elected, integrated postwar government in Louisiana. When white supremacists took up arms to oust that government, Longstreet, leading the interracial state militia, did battle against former Confederates. His defiance ignited a firestorm of controversy, as white Southerners branded him a race traitor and blamed him retroactively for the South’s defeat in the Civil War.Today’s guest is Elizabeth Varon, author of “Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South.” We consider why although Longstreet was one of the highest-ranking Confederate generals, he has never been commemorated with statues or other memorials in the South because of his involvement in the Republican Party and rejecting the Lost Cause mythology. We also look at his second life as a statesman, serving in such positions as ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
2 Jan 202446min
The Septuagint – It Really is Greek to Me
The Septuagint is the most important translations you’ve never heard of. In this episode of the 10th Anniversary of the History of the Papacy series, Steve Guerra and his special guest Garry Stevens lay out the basics of the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament. They talk about the issues of translation and the process of translation.Learn more about the History of Papacy and subscribe:Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3td44ES Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7DelfggbL0Au4e3aUyWDaS?si=6ffaacda2ddc4d9bSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
30 Dec 202317min
Benedict Arnold Was America’s Greatest Hero Before He Became Its Worst Villain
Benedict Arnold committed treason— for more than two centuries, that’s all that most Americans have known about him.Yet Arnold was much more than a turncoat—his achievements during the early years of the Revolutionary War defined him as the most successful soldier of the era.Today’s guest is Jack Kelly, author of “God Save Benedict Arnold: The True Story of America’s Most Hated Man.” We look at Arnold’s rush of audacious feats—his capture of Fort Ticonderoga, his Maine mountain expedition to attack Quebec, the famous artillery brawl at Valcour Island, the turning-point battle at Saratoga—that laid the groundwork for our independence.Arnold was a superb leader, a brilliant tactician, a supremely courageous military officer. He was also imperfect, disloyal, villainous. One of the most paradoxical characters in American history, and one of the most interesting.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
28 Dec 202339min
